Tom has all the right ingredients to be a stand out establishment, but taste and clumsy moments…read moremakes for a puzzling experience.
Seated promptly and greeted with a smile in a cosy and ambient setting. Perfect for Melbourne's cold winter nights.
The work-tossed green beans with garlic, hoisin and sesame seeds was not as tasty as we were expecting, or have had previously in other places, slight smell that accompanied it as well. Confusing dish too, with broccoli and bok choy added to the mix (but not mentioned), was a pleasant surprise.
The Szechuan chilli-salt squid with green-chilli soy was the biggest, expensive letdown of the night. The batter felt like it was dried out, with the consistency of mushy chips. Maybe it needed to be cooked more? It lacked the crunchy texture needed and the sauce, basic, in a tiny plate that you couldn't even dip the squid pieces in properly.
The soft-shell crab tacos were tasty, and priced generously, however, lacked a champion flavour that could have been provided with more of the house made sauce.
The main chilli caramel pork belly served with succulent scallops and a side of fresh Asian herb salad could have been so much more. The side salad was the main attraction covering almost 70% of the plate. The scallops were ridiculously tiny, only two of them, but were delicious. The pork belly, lovely cooked skin, but disappointingly dry. The dish was saved by the sauce on the salad.
It was difficult to get service after the main dish was gone, we wanted dessert but took almost 30 minutes before we could order. Until one of the other waitresses came to our rescue, she was great.
To our disappointment, the peanut butter parfait was sold out. However, the roti pancake and dark chocolate and Cointreau mousse more than made up for it. Well-balanced, tasty desserts that would satisfy even the most sweet-tooth amongst you. The sweet stuff doesn't let you down.
While eating the dessert the waitress took one of the drinks away that still had some left, she was that quick I couldn't stop her from taking it. I still do not understand why they do this. Please stop doing this. It makes no sense, ask first.
The rum cocktail and the lychee and lime soda mocktail ($6 is a great price point) were winners in my book, both nailing that sour taste, and were satisfying drinks.
Tom Phat needs to do more to earn a high rating, unfortunately for us, the expectation was not met, both in food and service wise. It's a good night out, but do not expect too much here.